[InChristAlone]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

First Proof: Disagreement between Early Church Fathers and the Apostles

The Bible record of baptisms and the apostle's words only mentions baptism in the name of Christ, and not the name of the Father, Son and Spirit, and I think that is something you will find is unchanged between your version of the Bible and mine.

The purpose of baptism is to unite a person to Christ. Through Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit, we come to know the Father.

So, I don't find any disagreement. When the apostle Peter baptized someone in the name of Jesus Christ, he baptized him or her in the name (singular) of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as well. The Holy Trinity is indivisible: the Son has never been divided from the Father, nor the Holy Spirit from the Father or the Son, and never will be divided. The apostle Peter only points out the main content of our faith and of our confession.

You argue that the New Testament talks about people being baptized "in the name of Jesus," but there are only four such passages (Acts 2:38, 8:16, 10:48, and 19:5). Further, these passages do not use the same designation in each place (some say "Lord Jesus," other say "Jesus Christ"), indicating that they were not technical formulas used in the baptism but simply descriptions by Luke. These four descriptions are not to be considered as a substitute for or contradiction of the divine command of the Lord Jesus Christ to: "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19).

Rather, the phrase "baptized in the name of Jesus" is simply Luke’s way to distinguish Christian baptism from other baptisms of the period, such as John’s baptism (which Luke mentions in Acts 1:5, 22, 10:37, 11:16, 13:24, 18:25, 19:4), Jewish proselyte baptism, and the baptisms of pagan cults (such as Mithraism). It also indicates the person into whose Mystical Body baptism incorporates us (Rom. 6:3).

The early Church Fathers, of course, agreed. As the following quotes illustrate, Christians have from the beginning recognized that the correct form of baptism requires one to baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

The Didache

"After the foregoing instructions, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living [running] water. If you have no living water, then baptize in other water, and if you are not able in cold, then in warm. If you have neither, pour water three times on the head, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Before baptism, let the one baptizing and the one to be baptized fast, as also any others who are able. Command the one who is to be baptized to fast beforehand for one or two days" (Didache 7:1 [A.D. 70]).

Tatian the Syrian

"Then said Jesus unto them, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and earth; and as my Father has sent me, so I also send you. Go now into all the world, and preach my gospel in all the creation; and teach all the peoples, and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; and teach them to keep all whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you all the days, unto the end of the world’ [Matt. 28:18-20]" (The Diatesseron 55 [A.D. 170]).

Hippolytus

"When the one being baptized goes down into the water, the one baptizing him shall put his hand on him and speak thus: ‘Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty?’ And he that is being baptized shall say: ‘I believe.’ Then, having his hand imposed upon the head of the one to be baptized, he shall baptize him once. Then he shall say: ‘Do you believe in Christ Jesus . . . ?’ And when he says: ‘I believe,’ he is baptized again. Again shall he say: ‘Do you believe in the Holy Spirit and the holy Church and the resurrection of the flesh?’ The one being baptized then says: ‘I believe.’ And so he is baptized a third time" (The Apostolic Tradition 21 [A.D. 215]).

Originally Posted by Evangelical

This means that it did not come from the original Church that started in Jerusalem around AD 33. But that is okay for you, because you can pretend that everything between AD 33 and the 4th century was exactly the same as you believe today.

I believe in facts and not in your fantasy. If you you click on the blue text above, you will find lots of other proofs from the early Christians (before the 4th century). They all say that Christians must be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

So, you don't actually have any proof.